Evanescent
by HalcyonMoments11
Summary: He's not sure when it happened, or even how or why, but he knows that somehow he's fallen in love with this girl. And he knows that not much can come from this love - that in time, the most prominent feature of this passion will most likely be its evanescence. He's just a man who's loosing hope and praying that she can be his salvation. Prequel to Iridescent. Miroku/Kagome
1. Chapter 1

Evanescent

By: HalcyonMoments11

**Summary:** Evanescent: tending to become imperceptible; vanishing; fading away; fleeting. He's not sure when it happened, or even how or why, but he knows that somehow he's fallen in love with this girl. And he knows that not much can come from this love, that in time, the most prominent feature of this passion will most likely be its evanescence, but he still can't make himself deny what this woman means to him. She's his friend, a miko from the future, his betrothed's best friend, his best friend's lover, and the woman that stole his heart in a way that no other ever had. And he's just a lecherous monk with a void in his palm that threatens to consume him daily. He's just a man who's loosing hope and praying that she can be his salvation.

**Pairings:** Miroku/Kagome; Mentions of Inuyasha/Kagome, Miroku/Sango, Inuyasha/Kikyou and if you squint you may find others.

**Warnings: **CU; Language at times, character death, and maybe some suggestive themes later on.

**Rating: **T (PG-13)

**A/N:** This is the prequel to my Miroku/Kagome story _Iridescent_. While writing _Iridescent_ I decided that the few flashbacks that Kagome and Miroku have throughout the story did not quite tell the history I wanted to create for them sufficiently. So, I will tell that story here. It's not necessary to have read _Iridescent_ to read this story, but you may want to read that one afterwards. If you have read _Iridescent_ you may notice a few similar chapters later in the story. This story will be told in short chapters, about 500-1000 words in length. In this story, the first three Inuyasha movies have happened as well.

**Disclaimer: **This is for the _entire_ story. I don't own anything involving Inuyasha, nor any of the lyrics that I may use in the chapters.

"Talking."

'_Thoughts.'_

_Flashbacks/Dreams._

* * *

_You feel just like the sun,  
Just like the sun._

– Sara Bareillies (The Light)

* * *

It isn't often that the houshi finds himself seated by the Hone Kui no Ido awaiting their miko companion's return from her era, but it always seems that when he goes in place of his hanyou friend, it rains.

Miroku sighed as he shifted the rod of the spare apricot colored umbrella that Kagome stashed in Kaede's hut from one shoulder to the other. Inuyasha and Sango had left two days before in pursuit of a rumor about a close Shikon no Kakera and Miroku had volunteered to wait for their miko friend's return in their absence. Their trip would only take about three days, provided they didn't run into any complications, but Kagome was scheduled to return hours before they would. So, Miroku found himself seated beneath the trees on a blanket with an umbrella in hand, facing the well at the center of the field waiting for the blue light that would signal her return.

When it finally did, the sun was just beginning to peak through the clouds and over the trees. The sound of her yellow pack dropping with a dull thud against the ground woke him from the doze he had fallen into and drew his attention to the well as she lifted herself over the edge. The sun filtering through the rain-covered leaves cast shadows over her pale skin, highlighting her profile, and glistened off of her raven black hair. When her chocolate brown orbs met his own across the clearing, she smiled. The sight she made, like the familiar presence of her reiki, warmed him and stole his breath for a moment.

"Good morning, Miroku-sama," Kagome said in greeting as she lifted her bag to pull it over her shoulders.

He smiled in return, allowing himself to take pleasure in the calming sensation of her reiki as it extended across the clearing. During his few visits to and from the well with his miko companion, Miroku had noticed that traveling through time seemed to require a vast amount of her power. Due to a lack of training and control, she was often unable to reign in her aura for a few moments after her return – and even this she seemed only to do instinctively. Her reiki was immense – full of heat and compassion – and appeared to make her surroundings glow with new life.

In these moments where he witnessed this power, Miroku had often compared her to the sun.

"Good morning, Kagome-sama," he replied quietly.

"I hope you haven't been waiting long," she stated, making her way towards him as he closed his umbrella and stood.

"It was no trouble at all, Kagome-sama." He folded the damp blanket over his arm and grabbed his shakujou, which had been leaning against a near-by tree. She paused when she reached his side.

"Where's Inuyasha?"

"He and Sango are following a lead on a shard. If all goes well, they should return by this evening. I volunteered to stay behind and wait for your return." Miroku explained, motioning for her to lead the way as they began their trek back to Edo.

"I see," Kagome responded, biting her bottom lip nervously as she looked about them.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Kagome-sama. There's no need to fret."

Her chocolate eyes met his amethyst orbs for a moment before nodding carefully in agreement. They continued on silently for a while before Miroku spoke up again.

"Shippou-chan is waiting for us at Kaede-sama's hut. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

Her smile returned as she adjusted her pack on her shoulders. "I brought him some candy from my time that I'm sure he'll love," she stated.

Miroku smiled gently in response.

"You're more than welcome to some too, Mirkou-sama."

He chuckled. "Perhaps. If I can sneak some away from Shippou-chan."

"And Inuyasha," the miko added.

"Ah, yes. It may be best to just give me my portion now, Kagome-sama."

She laughed and moved her bag around one shoulder to pull a small box of pockey from within it. As she handed it to him, he caught the box and her hand in his own, fingers loosely gripping her wrist and drawing her gaze to his. He bowed his head slightly in thanks.

"Welcome home, Kagome-sama."

The smile she offered him in return was like the sun.

* * *

**A/N:** Well I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I wanted it to be a simple, but intimate beginning. The progression of their romance in this story will most likely be slow, as it was in my story _Iridescent_. I'm also going to attempt to keep most of this story in Miroku's perspective, as most of the other story was from Kagome's. Anyways, thank you all for reading and I hope to see you again next chapter!

**Vocabulary: **houshi - monk, Hone Kui no Ido - Bone Eater's Well, hanyou- half demon, Shikon no Kakera – Sacred Jewel shards, reiki – aura or chi, shakujou - Miroku's staff, sama – lord/lady or master, chan - used between friends or with someone younger than you, generally a very friendly suffix

_Please review! –HM11_


	2. Chapter 2

**Evanescent**

By: HalcyonMoments11

* * *

_And I've never longed for winter  
Until your presence made me shiver_

\- Christina Perri (One Night)

* * *

Despite Miroku's reassurances earlier that day, Sango and Inuyasha didn't return that evening. As the sun slowly sank below the horizon, the monk and miko set themselves to small tasks to keep their minds off their companions' late arrival. While Kagome helped Kaede and Shippou collect herbs and cook dinner, Miroku busied himself by replenishing the elder woman's firewood and cleaning his shakujou.

It was a late, quite meal, save for the short bout of excitement followed by Kagome revealing her replenished store of sweets to Shippou for dessert. The rest of the evening wound down quickly and soon only Kagome and Miroku remained awake, the monk organizing and replenishing his store of sutras and the young miko rustling through pages of her texts books and notes.

Over his sutras, Miroku quickly notices Kagome's distracted state. Sometimes she lingers on a page of her book for several minutes, staring blankly at one section of text while tugging at the sleeves of her nightshirt, before suddenly rifling through several pages at once or quickly shutting one book in favor of picking up another. She is in the midst of one of her silent moments when the houshi asks, "What troubles you Kagome-sama?"

His voice, though gentle, startles her. She jumps slightly, chocolate brown orbs meeting his violet across the small pit at the center of the hut where a small fire still burns. She holds his gaze silently for a few moments before she realizes that he has asked her a question, and in those moments he sees the worry lines that mar her soft features and the many questions and concerns behind her gaze. Her cheeks flush a faint pink when she finally realizes that he's still waiting for an answer and she makes a show of adjusting the books on her lap to feign a different distraction before doing so.

"It's nothing really, Miroku-sama, just my schoolwork."

Miroku smiles gently and nods in response. He knows her better than to just allow such a response to suffice. He slowly gathers some of his sutras and begins to put them away, without looking up at her, he says, "I'm sure Inuyasha and Sango-san have simply just run into a small mishap. Nothing to fret over."

The young miko responds too quickly. "I'm not worried Miroku-sama. I'm sure they're fine!"

After a quiet moment during which a few pages of her book are turned most likely for his benefit, she adds, "This lesson is frustrating."

Miroku chuckles and meets her gaze once more. "Perhaps a distraction then, Kagome-sama?"

"A distraction?" Her voice is tentative, almost weary.

Miroku notices, lips curling up into a knowing, yet mischievous smile. He knows that her hesitancy comes from years of enduring his own lecherous activities – his fingers twitch anxiously at the thought of those encounters. He wonders idly, what has stopped him from indulging himself lately.

He chuckles. "Now, now Kagome-sama, I meant nothing lewd. What is that phrase you often tell me? Get your head out of the gutter?"

His smile widens when her flush deepened in response. He had always enjoyed that color on her cheeks, particularly when the color blossomed for him.

Before she could begin to stutter a reply, Miroku added, "Even though I'd be happy to oblige, I had thought perhaps a different kind of lesson would peek your interest."

Kagome raises a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean Miroku-sama?"

"How long has it been since you've done any Miko training?"

"Oh… um, months probably…" A different kind of blush coats her cheeks this time, one of bashfulness.

Miroku smiles gently. "I'm not scolding you Kagome-sama. I'm offering to help. I could teach you some things."

The young miko visibly perks up at the thought, brown eyes widening with anticipation. "Really, Miroku-sama?" She scans the small piles of sutras in front of him, some of them still drying. "Could you teach me how to create sutras?" Her voice is quiet, remembering their sleeping companions, but there's no mistaking the eagerness there.

"It would be my pleasure, Kagome-sama." Miroku carefully stacks a few piles together and sets them aside. "But, perhaps we should begin with something simpler. You will need to know how to transfer your rieki into the sutras so that they maintain the ability you've designated them for. To do that, you must first be able to cast out and withdraw your aura. We could start there?"

Kagome smiles brightly in response. "Do you mean you'd teach me how to cloak my aura?"

"Yes. Some of the most brilliant Priests and Priestesses were known to be able to cloak the aura of an entire village or army in times of war. That ability stems from being able to conceal your own. However, you are more adept at casting out your reiki, as is evident by your increasing skills with your arrows. I believe we should start there. Are you interested Kagome-sama?"

His answer comes in a quick, but quiet movement where she stuffs all of her schoolbooks back into her bag and then seats herself next to him, carefully avoiding the small fire pit and any sutras Miroku still had out on the floor before him. The houshi laughed. "I suppose that I'll take that as a yes."

"How do we start?"

"This technique would allow you to use your aura for weaponry, like your arrows, or defense, by creating barriers, healing techniques, or in its simplest form, you can alert your allies to your presence by extending your aura out to touch theirs. Let's start with that."

Miroku reaches out to grasp her hands in his. Kagome allows it, watching carefully as he turns her hands so that they are palm up in his own. She meets his amethyst gaze after a moment and he offers her a small smile.

"You are already familiar with pushing your reiki into your arrows though your fingertips. What this technique would accomplish is that same reiki stretching across the entirety of your skin, in a more subtle, gentle way. At that point, you should be able to push your aura outwards to others. When you begin, your aura will appear to move from you in waves. Direction and control will come with practice. Do you understand so far, Kagome-sama?"

The miko nods in response.

"Good. Now, I'd like you to pull your reiki to your finger tips like you do with your arrows, but think softer, you're not trying to do harm here."

"If I mess up, will I hurt you Miroku-sama?" Her eyes are concerned, nervous.

Miroku shakes his head. "You can't hurt me with your reiki, Kagome-sama. We have similar spiritual powers, unlike you and any youkai. At most, I may feel a tiny shock, nothing more."

Kagome bites her bottom lip, a nervous trait she picked up from Sango. Not that Miroku would notice such a thing, of course.

"Give it a try, Kagome-sama."

She is hesitant at first, her fingertips barely flashing a faint pink in response to his request before meeting his gaze again. When Miroku nods slowly to encourage her, she tries again. This time, her reiki lit her fingertips and remained until they glowed a bright cameo pink.

"Well done, Kagome-sama. Now think softer, and if you can, let your aura spread across your hands."

The young miko and monk continued in this way, Miroku's fingers resting gently around her delicate wrists and her hands in his lap for a long while. And after it all, Kagome was able to expand her reiki over the expanse of her skin, making her features glow a pale pink whenever she called it forth.

In those moments Miroku watched her in a slight awe, not only marveling at the pace of her development – he had known she was a quick learner, but this had taken him by surprise – but also at the way her reiki enhanced her ethereal appearance. Never before had she seemed more beautiful to him than in those short minutes where she sustained her aura above her skin, her cheeks flushed with excitement and slight fatigue, lips parted gently in a smile, and eyes bright even in the shadow of her reiki.

After her last successful attempt – which she had managed to sustain for several minutes – Miroku suggested, "Perhaps we should call it a night, Kagome-sama. You've done very well so far and we don't want to strain you too much."

Kagome frowned slightly, eyes still alight with determination. "Let me try extending my reiki beyond my skin once, Miroku-sama. Please?"

She had brought out her puppy-dog pout. She knew he couldn't say no to that.

The houshi sighed, shifted slightly and adjusted his grip on her wrists. "Very well, Kagome-sama," he replied with a small smile.

"I will put up a small barrier around the two of us, so that you don't have to worry about harming Shippou or waking Kaede-baachan, and also so that you do not have to focus on direction for the time being."

Kagome nodded her understanding and waited for Miroku to activate one of his sutras. When everything was ready, he said, "Remember what I said, Kagome-sama. Bring your reiki gently to the surface – as you have been – and then simply try to push it out from you."

"Right."

"Whenever you're ready then."

The young miko began to call forth her reiki once more. Rather than beginning at her fingertips as it had when they had first begun tonight, she was now able to bring it forth from several different parts of her body at once. A gentle cameo pink bloomed from her palms, her chest, her hips, the soles of her feet, and spread carefully across the rest of her skin. When the process was complete violet eyes met nervous chocolate brown with a small smile. Miroku nodded his encouragement once more and watched as Kagome took a deep breath once and then closed her eyes.

The sensation that followed took his breath away. In one smooth wave, her reiki pulsed away from her skin and rushed over him, a bit stronger than he had expected.

Never before had Miroku felt her power like this. He had felt it in passing when she had shot arrows in his defense during battle, and whenever she purified a shard that they miraculously recovered, which was often a similar feeling to the way her power lingered around the Hone Kui no Ido whenever he witnessed her return, and then as a gentle, tickly sensation moments before as her aura lingered on her skin, but never like this – never this breathtaking, skin tingling, overwhelming rush of heat and purity and passion thrust solely at him.

It was over far before Miroku wished it to be. Thrilled brown eyes met his astonished amethyst, her hands moving back slightly to grasp his and entangle their fingers as she excitedly repeated "I did it, Miroku-sama! I did it!"

He could only smile in response, still speechless and marveling at the sensations that her aura had left behind. And realizing as he caught his breath that he desperately craved more.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I apologize for the long wait once again. It took me a little while to figure out how I wanted to write this scene and if I wanted to let this chapter be this long. Overall, I'm happy with the product and with the fact that this provides me with more Miroku/Kagome lessons to work with! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for sticking with me!

**Vocabulary: **houshi – monk, miko- priestess, youkai- demon, shakujou – Miroku's staff, reiki – chakra, aura, spiritual powers, baacha – grandmother figure, sama – lord/lade/master, a term of respect, chan- a term of endearment

_Thanks for reading! Please Review! – HM11_


	3. Chapter 3

Evanescent

By: HalcyonMoments11

* * *

_Now all the stars have gone,  
Faded into cracks of dawn,  
And I'm still waiting here  
Waiting for you to come home._

\- Norah Jones (Waiting)

* * *

After Kagome's first successful expulsion of reiki, and despite Miroku's protests, the young miko insisted on continuing the practice. In the end, it hadn't taken much from the young woman to convince the houshi to continue. After years of raising their kitsune companion, Shippou, and befriending and caring for the hanyou, Inuyasha, Kagome had developed a rather effective puppy-dog face: batting long, ebony lashes, hands – still entangled with his own – brought up to just barely brush a slight pouting lip, and titling her head to the side just-so. Even Inuyasha had a difficult time saying no to it.

Goosebumps still lined his skin; the pleasant heat of her enticing aura still lingering between them like Miroku remembered the scent of home used to linger in his clothing as a boy. The feeling of her hot breath ghosting over his knuckles did nothing to sooth the sensation and only made it more difficult to refuse the brown-eyed girl in front of him - his craving for more, made it practically impossible.

With the puppy-dog eyes came a pleaded, "Please, Miroku-sama!"

And "Just a little longer, Miroku-sama. Please?"

It was all the houshi could do to sigh – almost exasperatedly – to put on some show of restraint before agreeing with his friend to continue.

"But, only in smaller volume, Kagome-sama. This barrier was not built to last a long period of time." Miroku had said in condition, to which Kagome agreed eagerly with a wide smile.

"Besides, honing your ability to dispel your reiki in smaller, more precise ways may prove better practice than expelling such a large quantity at a single time."

He chuckled gently as she shifted to make herself more comfortable in front of him, only now detangling her fingers from his almost as an after thought.

"Let's go back to focusing your reiki to just your hands. This time, you'll use the same technique you just used to expel your aura, just more focused."

Kagome nodded her understanding, a faint pink glow already rising around her hands.

"I'll keep the barrier up for a while longer until you can focus it in one direction."

That was all the response the young miko needed. In moments she had called forth her reiki to her fingertips and begun expelling it in significantly smaller volumes. Miroku allowed her to work at her own pace, demonstrating the technique occasionally by projecting his reiki from his finger tips to hers.

He enjoyed watching her response to his own chakra in those small moments. He wondered if it felt anything like the pure, raw passion that emanated from hers. As he watched her chocolate brown eyes widen slightly with each connection, her pupils dilating in response, he wondered how his reiki felt to her. Did she enjoy the feeling? Was it warm and comforting, or sharp and thrilling? Was it anything like hers – all of these things in one, and somehow more?

The houshi doubted it.

Still, the small smile that curved the corners of her lips when he allowed his reiki to take on the violet-silvery color that it took in corporeal form when he reached out to her with his own was satisfying in an odd way.

The pair lost track of time as they practiced on into the night, Kagome eventually shifting so she sat besides the monk. They chatted aimlessly in low voices between short bursts of reiki passed between them. The miko's voice was barely a whisper when she asked him, "Why did wait for me, Miroku-sama?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Kagome-sama?" the monk replied, looking up from their hands between them, close, but not quiet touching.

"Why didn't you go with Inuyasha and Sango-chan to look for the shard?"

Miroku tilted his head to the side curiously, unsure of where this topic of conversation had come from. "Someone had to wait for your return, Kagome-sama. So, I volunteered."

Kagome 'hmmed' and focused her attention on their hands once more. The cameo pink of her reiki was beginning to fade. She was quickly learning how to cast out her chakra without seeing the action visibly.

"I'm sorry to trouble you with that necessity, Miroku-sama" she mumbled.

He shifted his hand so that his fingers delicately brushed hers, bring her gaze back to his own.

"It was no trouble at all, and certainly not a necessity, Kagome-sama. We simply did not want to leave you without some kind of explanation or understanding of our whereabouts."

"But I've held you back to wait for me."

"Held me back?" He asked, voice quiet and violet eyes bright. _Is that what she thinks?_

"I'd spend centuries waiting for you, Kagome-sama. Only ever because I _desire_ to, and for no other reason."

Kagome's cheeks flushed faintly in response and she turned her gaze away from his towards the small fire at the center of the hut. For a moment, he was glad for the reprieve from her eyes – eyes that he knew often saw more than he would like them to. With that statement came a fluttering sensation in his stomach that he hadn't expected, with uncertain meaning. He was sure his confusion and any other emotion that accompanied that feeling had crossed his features in that moment.

A slightly uncomfortable silence stretched between them then, and Miroku feared making any sort of movement, even one to pull his fingers away from hers. He was surprised then, when she leaned back towards him, resting her head on his shoulder carefully.

"Kagome-sama?"

Her fingers shifted against his, entangling them as she squeezed his between her own.

"Thank you, Miroku-sama."

Amethyst orbs glanced down at the head of raven hair on his shoulder, a small smile gracing the corner of his lips. He squeezed her hand gently in response. They remained in that position for some time, until Miroku felt Kagome's weight shift more thoroughly onto his shoulder and he realized by her steady breathing that she had fallen asleep.

He chuckled noiselessly and shifted so that his head fell gently on hers. Her weight was comforting, and her proximity enticing in a way that it had never been before – during late night conversations, or beneath the sound of coals popping and hitched breathing as he tucked her head beneath his chin comfortingly, waiting for their hanyou friend to return from another venture seeking the undead miko.

_There's certainly no harm in leaving her there for now,_ he muses, watching the fire crackle and burn.

* * *

The sun had just begun to breach the horizon, bringing with it a dusty dawn when Inuyasha and Sango finally pulled the bamboo flap of Kaede's hut aside to enter. It had been an exhausting trip, but fruitful. The difficult part had been returning to Edo with a tainted shard – its cursed call, albeit its minuscule size, seemed boundless. The pair had had little rest since obtaining it.

They entered the hut to find Kaede restocking a small fire, sparks rising into the air as she prodded the coals to life with a stick. Kirara jumped silently from Sango's shoulder and stretched with a quiet mew before joining Shippou who remained asleep, huddled in one of Kagome's blankets on Kaede's cot. The taijiya nodded a silent greeting to the village elder before turning her gaze on Kagome and Miroku who still slept by the door of the hut.

Inuyasha's amber orbs followed her gaze, widening slightly in confusion and anger at the sight they found. Kagome's head still rested gently on Miroku's shoulder, and his head on hers, their fingers entwined partially between them, both sleeping soundly.

"What the hell is this?!" Inuyasha protested loudly, earning himself a glare from his taijiya companion and a scolding from Kaede.

"Hush, Inuyasha!" the elder demanded, eyes falling on the pair who barely stirred at the hanyou's outburst. "They were awake late into the night, awaiting your return."

"Feh."

Despite his reply, Inuyasha's ears twitched and lowered slightly with the elder woman's words. "Only one of them needed to keep watch," he muttered, moving further into the small hut at Kaede's insistence that the two of them settle down and rest themselves.

Sango nodded slightly in agreement, noticing the way the shard in her possession pulsed with Kagome's proximity, the darkness that tainted it fading slightly.

Carefully, she moved to Kaede's cot, which the elderly woman offered her, and curled herself around the sleeping kitsune and her bakeneko. Noticing the small glare her hanyou friend cast in the direction of the sleeping pair, she too turned her gaze in their direction. Her stomach tightened uncomfortably at the sight the two made, but she shrugged it off quickly. It wasn't the first time she had woken up to find the two of them sleeping soundly so close to each other. The two had an undeniably close friendship, and there were often times when even she, as Kagome's only other female companion, could not comfort the futuristic miko the way the houshi could.

Sango sighed and allowed her weary body to rest, having given the tainted jewel shard to the elder miko and relieved herself of the weight of it. The purification of the shard seemed to put Inuyasha slightly at ease as well and the two quickly fell asleep like the rest of their companions.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, it's been far too long since I updated this story, and I sincerely apologize for that. I hope you'll all forgive me for my absence and any future stretches of time between future updates. I'm in a MA English program at the moment and a lot of my time has been consumed by projects for school and outside work. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter regardless. Best wishes for the New Year!

_-HM11_


End file.
